Ten Months Later
by Adelilah
Summary: (A part of the last SWG chapter that I decided to write into a one-shot instead) Rango and his gang are still on the run, and on their way to Mexico they stop by at his old hometown Skeleton Cliffs. Both to rest up in the ruins before moving along, and so that Bentley can return to the neighboring town of Dirt and finally see 'his Prissy' again...


**Just gonna throw this out here today as well ^^**

**So, I just couldn't help but to write this really quick one-shot... This is a part from the last chappie but from the bountyhunters point of view that I decided to leave it out. However, I actually liked this idea so I made it into a one-shot instead ^^**

**Enjoy~!**

***** Ten Months Later *****

Rango the bountyhunter stood like frozen to the ground, watching the house in front of him with a far-off look in his eyes. The two-stories, small house had once been white, but now the color was as good as gone from the withering boards and the roof had begun to cave in. Windows were cracked and the one remaining shutter slammed rhythmically against the wall as a breeze swept through. Just seeing the house made the memories crash into the bountyhunter like a giant wave. Memories of what seemed to have been a past life, a life where he was someone else than who he was now. A deputy with a wife, friends, family and future. Back when he was Durango Campbell.

He was back. Back in what remained of his birthtown: Skeleton Cliffs. Here he had lived for a bit more than 20 years, before IT happened. Before he lost everything, due to a gang of ruthless bank robbers. Before he lost HER...

The ring burned in his pocket, so he picked it up and stared at it. Claras engagement ring, first given to him by his mother. He had no idea why he kept it around, since all it did was to cause him to relive the painful memories. But in a way, he never wanted to forget about her, not even the bad times!

"There ya are!" Hicks voice cut through his thoughts, causing him to look up from the ring in his palm. "Ya know you've been gone for two hours, right?"

"An' I woulda been here longer if ya hadn't come an' disturbed me..." Rango snorted and plopped the ring back into its pocket before turning to the coyote. "Hell, I ain't been here for 26 years, I'm allowed to get sentimental aren't I?"

"It's not that, it's just that Bentley is getting' kinda..." Hicks paused and couldn't help but to make a pained grimace. "Impatient..."

"He's been impatient for ten months..." Rango couldn't help but to grin faintly at his gangmember;

For ten months straight Bentley had been nagging constantly about 'his' Prissy, and how much he missed her. That was 300 days, give-or-take, of nagging, whining and complaining from a guy who used to spend his days trying to be so annoyingly hilarious as possible. It had even gotten to the point where he began to get anxious, and worry that she might have forgotten about him and/or given up on him! And this hysterical Bentley was even more annoying than the crazy Bentley and they all agreed: he HAD to meet her again! Or else he would never calm down, and it wouldn't surprise them if he got a heartattack sooner or later.

They had stopped by in Skeleton Cliffs on their way to Dirt, and was hoping that they could hide out in the ruins at least for a couple of days; when Rango looked at his men, he saw how torn and worn out they were after being on the run for nearly a year. They had to rest up somewhere safe for a long time, and since people seemed to avoid the ghosttown of Skeleton Cliffs (probably due to the plague that wiped the entire town out about 15 years ago), they thought that this would be a good place. Not only was Rango familiar with this place, but they could also take refuge in the old, abandoned mines if they were found out and things got ugly.

He threw a last look at the house before following Hicks back to the casino on Main street. Or the ruins of the casino. Oh so many memories from that casino...

"Lemme guess, ya used to live in that house?" Hicks said with a nod back at the house, and Rango nodded bitterly. Hicks sensed his companions gloomy mood and awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, desperately searching for something to say. "Umm... It's a nice house?"

"Then ya shoulda seen it with paint... An' a roof..." Rangos voice was low and he glanced down at the ground. "I r'member that Holliday paid me extra, just so I could buy that house for me an'... Clara...When we got..." His voice trailed off until he went silent in mid-sentence.

Hicks was quiet for a while, before chuckling. "Y'know, I still find it difficult to picture ya as a lawman..."

Rango smirked. "Yeah... Me too..."

They got out on Main street, and Rango almost flinched for the second time that day when he saw how much the town had changed since it was abandoned: last time he saw these streets, they were bursting with life. The buildings were painted and music from the saloons and the casino was bustling, especially during the nights. Now everything was silent, dead even. The buildings were slowly collapsing and dry weeds were growing here and there, despite Harveys valiant efforts to keep the town in shape after everyone left, the town was nothing more than a dead shell from it's past glory days, and the shadow the huge cliff cast over the town at nights only made the town look more eerie and dead.

He had heard about the plague that struck the town, barely ten years after he left. More than half of the townspeople perished in the lethal disease, among them his family. Harvey was one of the few who survived, and actually stayed behind. Rango had rode past the cemetery on their way here, and almost gasped in shock when he saw all the graves. So many dead, and he probably knew every single one of them.

Still deep in his thoughts, he followed Hicks into the ruins of the casino, the Skull Dollar Casino, where his two older twin sisters had worked back in the days. Inside the large, dusty building, he saw his equally dusty and worn out men. Most of them had dark shadows under their eyes and wounds here and there. Their clothes were torn and when they saw him come through the doorway, they looked up at him with weary, almost pleading, faces. Coral was lying curled up in a corner, her green eyes were closed shut. She was probably trying to catch up on sleep.

They had been on the run for ten months. Sure, every now and then they would find a town to hide in, or a couple of old friends who were willing to hide them for a while, but they always had to leave sooner or later. Right now, they had been riding day and night for almost a week without finding anywhere to stop. They were heading south, hoping to cross to Mexico for a while and took the rode past Dirt. For various reasons.

The only one who didn't look up at Rango and Hicks was Bentley, who was sitting on top of a roulette table. He was tossing little black and red markers that he found lying around, against a wall without further interest. A mix of grouchiness and worry was visible underneath the low-hanging brim of his hat. Not even being able to find any way of contacting Priscilla, he wasn't the usual cheerful and overly excited, on the border to annoying as hell, Bentley, and hadn't been so for quite some time. But they were hoping that he'd change back after today.

"Ya ready to go there, buddy?" Rango asked the hyena, who quickly snapped his head to his direction and tilted it in confusion.

"Huh?"

"Ya ready to leave? I was thinkin' maybe you'd wanna see her b'fore we leave again..." He repeated a bit clearer, and he had barely finished the sentence until Bentley threw every marker he had in his hand at the wall and bolted out through the door. The others sighed and were about to get up from where they sat on scattered places, but Rango shook his head at them and made a sign for them to sit down again. "I reckon that Bentley an' I are the only ones who has any business to do in Dirt. I'd suggest that y'all stay 'ere an' try to find somewhere to sleep since I plan on lettin' us stay here as long as we can..."

With a loud and unified relieved sigh, they all slumped back down on their chairs, stools, tables etc, and Scrange fell asleep right where he sat. With a reassuring nod at Hicks, he left the saloon just in time to see Bentley drag their two exceptionally large roadrunners out from the condemned livery stable. The basilisk couldn't help but to raise an impressed eyebrow; that was probably the fastest anyone had ever saddled a pair of 'runners before!

…

But before they left, Rango had one more thing to do, or person to visit. As they rode out from Skeleton Cliffs, they took a detour to the cemetery once again, where Rango jumped down from Arcane, what he had chosen to call the albino roadrunner, and walked straight up to one of the graves. The tombstone was beginning to fade and the letters had become hard to read due to years of negligence, but he still knew what it said;

___In loving memory of_

___Clara Campbell, formerly Barley_

___Beloved wife, sister and daughter_

___Taken away from us too soon_

His throat tightened up as he placed a hand on the rugged rock. It felt just like yesterday he saw her alive for the last time. But it had been over 20 years now. 26, more exactly. But he knew he'd never forget that crazy little troublemaker, who gave both him and Jake a helluva lot of trouble back in the days.

He sighed and patted the cool rock one last time. "I love you..." He said with a whisper before finally let his fingers slide off the tombstone and head back to Bentley and the birds. Although he made a silent promise that he'd soon be back.

The hyena was sitting with his chin resting on one hand, impatiently tapping his fingers against his cheek. Rango couldn't help but to smirk as he climbed back up into the saddle. He knew all too well how Bentley felt. All he was hoping for now was that, unlike himself, his friend got to keep his soulmate. He himself was an example of what could happen to someone who experienced a loss like that...

…

When they got about half-way to Dirt, Bentley suddenly slowed down, causing Rango to come to a halt as well and look at the hyena with a puzzled look.

"If I turn east here, I'll get to the Crystal Canyon, right?" He asked, and Rango nodded slowly.

"Yeah... But what are ya gonna do there? I thought-...!"

"I dunno..." Bentley averted his eyes. "I just feel that it's where I gotta go right now..."

The basilisk was quiet for a while, before nodding again. "Y'know what? Take yer time! I'll come back an' fetch ya when it's time to leave again!" He said, and Bentley quickly looked back up at him and smiled thankfully.

"Gee, thanks Rang-Rang!"

"Unless ya call me that, of course..."

"Sorry..."

"What're ya still doin' 'ere?!" Rango waved with his hand. "Ya go find yer girl now, ya hear?!" Bentley grinned widely and nodded before turning Grumpy around and continue east.

The bountyhunter watched the hyenas silhouette slowly disappear into the night while he himself continued on the road to Dirt. He had a gift to deliver to an old friend. His hand instinctively reached down to the ring in his pocket and smiled carefully when he felt the cool gold.

…

Bentley and Grumpy rode through the narrow valley of the Crystal Canyon. Something had told him to go here, and he was deeply hoping that it was what he wanted it to be. The loose dirt was whipped up by Grumpys large feet and the big roadrunner left a trail of dark dust behind as he ran through the canyon. He was the one who spotted the other roadrunner first. To Bentleys surprise, and slight anger, the tall, dark brown roadrunner suddenly slowed down. The long neck became even longer as he raised his head and squawked loudly.

"Grumps?! What the he...?" That was when Bentley saw the familiar light brown roadrunner stand tied to a dead tree, and his heart skipped a beat. "B-Birdie?"

Birdie saw Grumpy and his rider, and chirped happily when he recognized them. Bentley hurried to jump down, and the sudden movement caused Birdie to flinch slightly. But when the hyena came up to him, he greeted him by nudging his beak into his pawlike hand. Bentley looked around, but couldn't see Priscilla anywhere.

"Birdie... Where's yer rider?" He asked the bird, and instantly Birdie tilted his head up and looked up at the cliff wall he was tied next too. Bentley recognized the place and smiled carefully. "Of course..."

He had never climbed that fast before, practically running up the steep wall. While he climbed, he prayed to every deity he knew off that she would be there, waiting for him. So when he finally reached the tunnel, heaved himself up over the ledge and saw her sitting by the other side, his heart skipped another beat.

There she was. In the dull moonlight. He only saw her back as she sat with her legs over the edge, her entire upper body was drooping and faint sobs were heard coming from her shaking frame. Her long tail was lying still on the ground slightly curled up around her. She was crying, the one thing he hated to see more than anything else.

He had to bring up a huge amount of self-control, since every fiber of his being told him to just rush over to her, scoop her up into his arms and never let her go again. Instead, he took a deep sigh to calm himself down and fold his shaking arms across his chest. He tried to tug his mouth up in one of his usual grins, but he could swear that it looked just as troubled as it felt, and leaned against the nearest wall.

"So..." He said and tried his best to keep his voice from trembling. "What's a time like you, doin' in a girl like this, this late at place, huh?" When he realized what he just said, he cursed lowly. "Oh hell... But ya know what I meant, right?"

***** The End *****

**So, I left this out of the chapter for two reasons:**

**1. That with this part in it, the chapter would become ridiculously and unnecessarily lenghty**

**2. I thought it would be better if I kept Bentley and the others whereabouts a mystery for as long as possible because why not :P**

**Meh, I told y'all it would just be a short one-shot, nothing too fancy 'bout it... Hope y'all enjoyed it anyway ^^!**


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